Former Pontiac woman, 99, recalls her survival of Armenian Genocide

Ramela Carman, 99, of Livonia, a survivor of the Armenian genocide of 1915, gets a hug from The Reverend Father Garabed Kochakian during a visit to St. John's Armenian Church in Southfield, pictured Tuesday March 25, 2014. Carman will turn 100 April 7th. (Vaughn Gurganian-The Oakland Press)

As a child, former Pontiac resident Ramela Carman, 99, survived the Armenian Genocide — which will have its 99th anniversary this April.

A long time member of St. John’s Armenian Church in Southfield, Carman is about to celebrate her 100th birthday, but she did her own cooking, cleaning and shopping up until she moved out of her senior apartment in August 2013 when she declared she is too tired.

The church will be coming together with other area Armenian churches to honor those that died in the genocide.

Rev. Garabed Kochakian of St. John’s Armenian Church said his wife is the niece of Carman. He said it is a time for all Armenians to come together to pray to remember the 1.5 million Armenians that perished during the years of 1915 to 1918 under the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

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Family members of Carman describe her life as “unique,” as she was born in Yozgat, Turkey on April 7, 1914 during one of the roughest times in Armenian history.

“She comes from a historic Armenian town and as a young child in that historic Armenian town, they were actually lands that were overtaken by the Turkish government,” Kochakian said. “But historically, before her birth, the lands belonged to the Armenian people.”

Growing up in Turkey, Carman’s family was actually considered “above average” because her father was a skilled tradesman who made shoes by hand for the wealthy. When the massacres began, Armenians fled their homes, only taking their most basic needs.

Armenians were not able to return home for years, which even then, their homes had been looted and vandalized.

“We came home, our home was empty,” she said. “... We didn’t have any money for nothing ... We used flour, a little bit of parsley and onion and rolled that up with some salt and ate that.”

Carman’s father moved many places to avoid being killed, but finally arrived in Yozgat, Turkey using a donkey for transportation. Meanwhile, Carman was staying with her paternal aunt and three cousins in a village, where women were banished to.

“There wasn’t one family that wasn’t touched by the holocaust or genocide that occurred,” Kochakian said. “This is important for human rights, justice and truth — it should prevail for all people.”

It wasn’t until 1916 or 1917 that the family was able to move back home, but they lived in Yozgat until 1924. Living conditions were terrible, Carman said, so the family left for Instanbul.

The family traveled by wagon, which one night ended up driving straight into a lake, where Carman nearly drowned until her mother saved her. After the accident, the family decided to move to Ankara, where Carman went to school and received a diploma.

At age 11, Carman said she began working in a factory that made clothing. She was able to demonstrate the steps of putting together a shirt in the factory, piece-by-piece.

In 1960, she came to the United States, Carman said, where she ended up marrying her husband, Masa. She was hired to repair Oriental rugs for Hagopian’s.

Her husband passed away on Aug. 18, 1995.

Kochakian describes Carman as, “very respectful, considerate, a very loving individual, always wanting to do good for others.”

Today Carman lives at Manoogian Manor in Livonia. Kochakian said Carman has become a helpful resident there, “counselling them and making sure they eat their food.”

She said the key to living a long and healthy life is being a “hardworker.”